Let’s Talk Nerdy: Sugars

January 5, 2015

This post is part of my Let’s Talk Nerdy series. I hope you find the information helpful and thought-provoking. (Please read my disclaimer regarding the nutrition-related information shared on this blog.)

We know too much is bad for our health. We know it tastes good. We know it can give us cavities. We know it’s in almost everything we eat.

How is sugar labeled?

Sugars are labeled under the Total Carbohydratesection on a food label (photo via.) As pictured, the number of grams is listed perserving. The 26g of sugar included on this label is the amount of natural and added sugar per serving.

About 50% of the sugars consumed in the United States are added sugars, which have been refined and added to foods for a variety of reasons. Sugars are labeled in all different fashions under the ingredients list on food labels, so be careful! Here are some examples of sugar in foods:

sucrose

invert sugar

corn sugar

corn syrups

high-fructose corn syrup

honey

brown sugar

confectioners’ sugar

corn sweeteners

dextrose

granulated sugar

levulose

maple sugar

molasses

raw sugar

turbinado sugar

white sugar

Brown Sugar vs White Sugar

Brown sugar is typically unrefined white sugar mixed with molasses. It is marketed as ‘healthier’ than regular table sugar, but the validity of that claim is questionable.

Artificial Sweeteners

What are they? Sugar substitutes that provide no energy. A few examples:

Stevia

Sugar Alcohols (sugarlike compounds that can be derived from fruits or are commercially produced). In a lot of ‘sugar free’ products. However, they are not free of calories – they just contain less calories than sugar.

Consuming too many sugar alcohols can evoke a low glycemic response, and may cause some problems with digestion.

USDA Food Guide Daily Sugar Intake Recommendation

According to this article by Forbes, the average American adult consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar per day (~88g per day.) The following are the USDA daily recommended amounts of sugar per total daily calorie intake:

(1 teaspoon sugar = 4g of sugar)

One tablespoon of ketchup has 4g (1 teaspoons) of sugar in it. See the Heintz label here (it was impossible to find Heintz’s nutrition label via their website, so I had to rely on google.)

High-fructose corn syrup

I think it’s important to end today’s post by talking about high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) because it’s in a lot of foods and like all sugars, is definitely something we should consume in moderation. Here are the details:

It’s made up of 50% fructose, 50% sucrose. It was developed in 1950 and introduced in many processed foods in the late 1970’s.

It’s less expensive to produce, more stable and easier to use

It’s found in drinks, baked goods, ketchup, candies, peanut butter, yogurt, ice cream, and much more

Two sides of the spectrum – ones that says HFCS can cause obesity, heart problems, cancer and many other health problems. The other side of the spectrum claims HCFS is safe (←Until I have a formal background in nutrition, I will avoid justifying my personal opinion. However, I try to stay as far away from HFCS as possible 😉 )

I hope this answers some of your questions about sugars – or better yet, makes you think of some questions you want to research. The more informed we are, the better health decisions we can make.

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About Lauren

Lauren Rice, MPH recently graduated from the Coordinated Dietetics Program at the University of Washington. In January 2017, she opened Nutrition Elevated, her anti-diet, #bodypositive nutrition counseling and consulting small business (www.nutrition-elevated.com).

Comments

Great post, and informative. Have you seen the documentary Fed Up? Very eye-opening about how much sugar one could actually consume in the US. I am definitely guilty of consuming too much added sugar 🙁 darn ice cream and cookies!

Hello and welcome!

I'm LAUREN, and I started Just a Pinch in 2014 when I was applying to graduate school to become a registered dietitian nutritionist. In 2017, I started my own small business, Nutrition Elevated, LLC, to help share the breadth of knowledge I learned as a nutrition graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle!